I would not describe myself as a city person but I can appreciate the benefits of an urban environment, especially if I am on holiday as opposed to permanently living there. One of my favorite cities hands down has always been Barcelona. It's small size, location on the sea, cosmopolitan population, amazing food and weather...what is not to love? Well, apparently the secret is out and Barcelona has often been the centerpiece of discussions regarding overtourism. We certainly felt that this trip was different and we also realized that due to travel restrictions, nearly all Chinese, Japanese, and Australian tourists were not traveling during this time and we could not imagine adding them to the mix.
It doesn't help that my wife studied for a year here in the early 2000s. Obviously things change but it was disappointing to see that places that used to be cool and used by the residents of Barcelona were now tourist traps. Mercado de La Boqueria used to be a market frequented by locals and now it's nearly totally geared towards tourists, the same goes for Park Guell. Even Las Ramblas felt like it was only tourists walking up and down looking at each other. The fun street performers and locals hanging out were absent and it felt claustrophobic at times.
I still loved Barcelona's charm and international feel. I did get to check out two places that I had never been that contrasted quite well with each other. We went on a hike in the hills in Serra de Collserola Natural Park with beautiful vistas of the city. On the beach front the vibes were bumping at San Sebastian and Barceloneta Beach. I loved the feel with loads of young people hanging out, skateboarding, flexing on the beach, and just exuding August Mediterranean beach vibes.
Overall the visit was still great, I was there primarily for work which made it easy to enjoy the food while not getting bogged down in the tourist activities.
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